importing a car

OK, here's the deal, im trying to tell my little brother that it is not econamical to import a car from japan, he found a skyline and im trying to tellhim that between shipping and getting it licensed over here, it would cost 4x the purchase price of the car.

it makes perfect sense- its not US legal. the DOT has strict rules here int he US of what deems a car road worthy. Japans doesnt.

all glass, lights, bumpers, brake lines, hoses and all sorts of shit needs to be changed, and then, a vehicle needs to be crashed tested. motorex fronted the cash on crashing 10 skylines. now, they own it.

B, I don't know about that. There's a Nissan dealership in Dallas that is importing and certifying Skylines. I don't see how Motorex could have a "patent" (someone else said this in another thread) on certifying a particular car for legal use in the States- they're just meeting a standard. Just because they did the crash tests doesn't mean that they're the only ones who can sell the car... unless they have specific mods they have to perform to meet the crash test standards that nobody else can do...

I don't remember which dealership in Dallas does the importing, but they estimate about $25k to bring in an R32 GT-R, then another $8000-10000 to make it legal.

what are all the websites you guys know about importing? or that import for you. I was kinda wanting a ae86 then convert it to RHD from a corolla GTS parts, maybe a vinswap, just because I want the body. but let me know, because my buddy has me on these little things again and also he is trying to sell me his he picked up for $500, for $800 and he has done nothing to it just marked up the price a bit. So hook me up if you can.

I bet the only thing they have a patent on is their research and any modifications they made to make them strret legal. Aslong as other people do it differently and don't infringe on that patent they its legal.

yeah but I don't want to make the JDM for road use here. I just want the shell, and the motor, and the rear end, and the seats, and the trim.....and ummm....the glass...oh yeah don't forget the tires, acutaly I basicaly just want the whole car, but plan on not driving it on the roads, I was just wondering if I could get a JDM one for a few grand shipped, but I don't want to meet some guy off the internet I wanted to see a place that has been doing this for a while. let me know what you got.

This does not include shipping, bonds, tarriffs, custom brokerage fee, and associated shipping fees. The additional cost varies as the bond cost (450% of the value of the vehicle) , and tarriff cost(2.5% of the value of the vehicle) varies with the value of the vehicle , also shipping can be roll on/roll off or container.

There are mandatory requirements for the DOT and EPA . Including crash testing , air bag testing , and OBD II to meet the Code of Federal Regulation requirements. Since Nissan did not perform any of these requirements , motorex has independently completed the research and development. you are paying for that as well, as you would with any product.

US emissions, speedometer , crash structure , lighting ,glass, US VIN , warning , and information labels all need to be changed to US spec.